Edit 5/2018 ... My reflection is that this thing is cheap junk sold by a junk company and anyone that would accept this has to be a moron. The latest is missing screws on the left rear wheel "mud flaps". The mudflap comes in contact with the wheel and is worn down. Oh, so that was that whirring noise. I guess if it was stapled on it would have too many and they would be falling out.
Stay clear of Thor & Dixie RV "superstores". The fact that Allegro has partnered with them and that Todd was pictured in their magazine places Allegro in a very bad light in my humble, but very strong and convinced, opinion.
November 1, 2017 approaches, the one year anniversary of owning this poorly built and prepared RV.
This page. which was designed to guide Dixie RV in Breaux Bridge La. while "fixing" it, did not work It became a "rant page" which I sent to Thor to guide them. That worked and I was supplied the parts that were needed to make it, well, mine, a working camper. One small rant, the idiocy, poor design and construction of this plan is beyond belief. Oh, let me add "cheapness". Who has bought an RV with a hole in the sink. We did.
Now I'm going through the old page and I'll see if I can be coherent.
The slide out is the latest war, August to October, 2017. But, I know slides and can make them relatively right. Thor can't. They line up their seals with the cut they make in the RV side, not with the slide itself, therefore, one end of the seal is bent to the extreme while the other end hardly touches. That goes for the upper seal and lower internal and external seals.
That was discovered, not believing as possible from a major manufacturer. Johnny could build a better tree house.
In amazement:
I have discovered that there is no working seal between the outside wall and my slide out bedroom. The tech from Thor, visiting Dixie RV, said "that looks normal". "Thor Normal" is not acceptable. If this kind of construction is normal throughout Thor Industries, how have they become so big?
. Down this historic write you can see where Dixie RV, their agent, attempted to secure the TV antenna wire on the roof with a screw. That antenna wire was shorted.. I fixed that, after hours, leaning all I needed to know about the antenna product and acquiring the sealant needed to do it right This was all due to Dixie's <word deleted>. And, at that they were pros.
As my wife says, we are on our own.
It all comes back! This website is just a first volley. I am not a little meek 70 year old man with no mechanical abilities. I pity those poor incapable couples who are on their last lap wanting some fun to close out the show and they buy this.
Now look below at this picture. This is the bottom seal as delivered from the factory. That is a drip pan kinda hanging in there. I was told "it needs "some adjustment", that's all. No, it needed a whole redo and Thor sent me the updated bottom seal and new drip pans. I installed them correctly. That bottom seal has been upgraded, as I said. Quantum owners will never get a recall notice. I haven't. If I had not raised hell, water would be leaking into the unit.
Really? Can you believe this is a new RV built by "professionals. It's rigged junk.
I placed the camera into the drip pan area. This is looking into the hole, moving nothing and is as I found it. That is the back of my wife's bedside table. The light is the walkway between her side of the bed and her table. Anything (bugs, snakes, spiders) can get into that hole. Normal? Yes, probably normal for Thor. This RV has been a nightmare from day one and 12 months later the nightmare continues as I have no idea what is next. .But, that nightmare I can handle. Relying on Dixie RV to save me would be a laugh. They can't install a curtain rod straight. And, it coming back worse that when it was brought in was always a worry. It came back dirty, the seat was stained, pieces of foam insulation were found on the seat from the antenna / curtain fiasco.
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This post covers these issues. This is a screen shot of the "Problems" picture folders.
Some of those pictures are below.
This blog was constructed so that Thor's representatives and Dixie RV's shop manager could all be on the same page when fixing the multiple problems and for them to know how I felt about being put out for months. The internet has shown me that I am not alone, but company does not make it better. It only reassured me that I was not going insane.
Now this page is being upgraded as a lesson, one that I hope will be heeded.
We bought the RV, Nov. 1, not noticing these "features". Giddy emotional buying will get you a Thor product. Crawl the floor with a flashlight.
Sagging door seal and hole in the headliner. It was a 2, or more, month war getting Thor & Dixie to fix this. Then they did a <word omitted> job.
The door seal was falling down.
The headliner has a hole in it and is sagging.
The dash has multiple problems.
The glued on fake wood was lopsided.
The HDMI frame is broken and the dash scratched by a tool.
When presented with this page at Dixie I was confronted with the nastiest "lady" I think I've ever met.
Ladies, tattoos do not feminine your appearance. They make you appear edgy. <word replaced>
I'll save you the interchange I had with her. She was combative. <word replaced>
Then there were the overlong side mirrors, a 2 month fight. I had to look up Louisiana law to explain how wrong Thor was in using them. That included having to contact the mirror manufacturer who was not aware of their product or chose not to be. A truck parts company saved me.. They told me shorter stems were available.
Thor has "gifted me" the shorter mirror arms. They insisted on the term "gifted". Whatever. The fact is that the arms were too long jutting out far beyond the sides of the RV box.. A driver would have the choice of hitting oncoming traffic or mailboxes on a rural road. If you have "102s", get them to send you "96s". That cuts your frontal exposure by 1 foot. It counts.
The manifest said we were getting "Premium Mirrors". We did not get "premium mirrors" and that complaint has been ignored by Thor. Was this why they were "gifted"? We got "Standard Mirrors" which you have to pull the glass off to adjust. How stupid. Not only can the glass be easily broken you can't check where they are pointed working alone. There is no vertical adjustment without disassembly. Not even Ryder truck, who sells them, could tell me how to adjust them. I learned that a small hole can be drilled in the bottom of the plastic covers and a 7/16 box end wrench gives you the vertical "adjustment".
That picture is down the page.
This is the manifest which still sticks on my window.
The double door refrigerator is also missing. I guess they inadvertently left those out. (SARCASM)
This is what I saw when trying to figure out the radio for which they sent no guide. Why no guide, because the guide says you get a remote and Thor decided you were not worth getting one. That information came from the radio manufacturer I contacted who offered me one if the radio had the guts in it. The radio does not not have the wiring for a remote. You have to get up from the table, go to the front and adjust it there. What a piece of <omitted>
OK, look how uncaring the Thor "inspectors" are. There are no inspectors at Thor or Dixie, my opinion.
Look at the "wood grain". I'm telling you, my opinion is that the assembly line at Thor is either drunk or on drugs. Even a national RV magazine mentioned staples sticking out everywhere. Each time in the RV I noticed a new crop sticking out ready to scrape old skin.
The idiot which broke the HDMI panel, let his electric screwdriver
slide across the dash. After months the dash and plastic piece were replaced.
The radio will hold one CD and has no memory for saving music. It will play a dvd on its small screen which cannot be watched by the passenger when in motion, as I understand it. ....
And, the hole in the bunk screen. Inspected?
While in the "bunk" area, there is a bad smudge or something on the truck front side wall slightly above the mattress. My guess is that it is where the ladder stayed on the 1200 mile trip from Indiana.
And, this RV pulled the driver's car. Ford says "NO TOWING FOR 1000 MILES". That is ignored by Thor. Will drive line and engine damage be the result? At first, they denied it. Dixie's Hammond service manager admitted it. Thor's jerk even yelled at me, "You don't know anything". Seems I did. He is lucky a thousand miles separated us. A few weeks later I got a phone call from a sweet voiced lady who helped me, even when I told her that I'd not step foot in Dixie, again. She has sent parts to my house to be installed. Thor has to be commended for at least that.
My tour began at the "house door".
Now it's time to go into the "living quarters". Watch yourself .... There are sharp staples by the back bed and other places yet to found by eye or skin.
Opening the living area exterior door. ....
I first noticed a white mark on the black door handle
Then I noticed the inside door handle was marred.
At this point, that seems so minor, but you pay 65,000 dollars for "new" you want "new".
Before going any farther, look to your left and see the marred panel that was removed by the tech to get to the leaking water lines beneath the sink. There he used hose clamps to stop the water. When the next leak will occur is only a guess. He says that panel is to be replaced so I won't picture it as I've taken so many already.
Those to come.
The "tech" at Dixie could not cut the wood to match when he replaced that panel. I did not pressure him to go farther. Going farther would have resulted in what mayhem?
On our first outing, the bottom drawer below the sink counter would not open. I opened the large door and saw that the faucet's retractable line weight was on the wrong portion of the hose and was sitting in the drawer prohibiting it from opening.
About that time the floor began flooding. I turned off the pump which was cycling. The source was under the front dinette bench seat. Luck would have it that I had the correct screw driver to remove the 2 square slot screws holding down the plywood seat support to gain access to the leak. Those overly long screws will be replaced by pegs to allow quick entry when needed. So dumb.
There I found, when the pump was turned on, a water line connected to the water heater was loose and spewing water. I tightened it and that fixed it. Taking the seat support off revealed our first look at the unit's many staple problems.
We know this cheap construction method is used throughout the industry. Most of the time it is used with some sense of control and intelligence.
Our RV is a good argument against that "control and intelligence" part.
I think so many staples were used it cracked the wood.
Look at the cracked wood. It took an imported Thor "tech" to fix that.
The next really stupid thing I noticed was that Thor has put rough topped screws into the Velcro strips to prevent them from coming loose. Don't they realize that those screws would rub holes into the seat cushions? Flat headed tacks would work perfectly. They will say that the Velcro will protect the cushions. No, not for long and if the screws are not lined up right, sooner.
Then I noticed the bench front panel buckling while fixing the water heater leak.
What a mistake. I should have put screws into them and let it be. That was a 4 month fight.
I think I see some discoloration at the bottom? Water damage? Yes, from the leaking hot water tank.
The back bench panel was protruding also, but not as much due to an electric outlet and one other part holding it in place. The panels are on order or have been received. Will they be the right color?
When they arrived they were scratched, the packaging had come completely apart. Thor sent another batch and the packing was destroyed also.
Below: front of rear bench. The bow is not as evident, but it is there.
One more thing. The table support comes out of a roughly cut piece of carpet with no trim. It will unravel. When presented to Thor, I got no comment. I was having to choose my battles. Maybe that was their MO, just ignore it.
The floor was loose, that was fixed by some means.
This is the bowed panel across from the one door refrigerator. It is held in place by countersunk beveled screws which look awful. The panels are ordered. The replaced panel was so bad (cut by Dixie) I put the original back in and screwed it down.
The beveled screws are stupid . Wood is seen peeling up from the pressure.
I replaced the screws with flats and washers. Their version was so unprofessional.
I guess this is a good time to mention the bunk curtain.
The curtain rail and the tv antenna control collided. The curtain could not be closed.
My offered simple solution was to turn the rail around and I almost did it myself. I only wish I had.
Their fix included the shorted TV antenna wire. There seemed at the point I discovered it, that there was no limit in how Dixie could turn "simple" into "bewildering". I was a mechanic. I know the stages of "learning on the job". It is my opinion this shop has not reached the "leaning level".
Bent and buckled rail.
Patched hole and one missed. I about had a seizure seeing this crap <word not omitted>.
This was unbelievable.
I crawled the floor.
In the back I found a staple protruding from a panel beneath the bed.
It would only be the beginning.
After bringing "the unit" in to begin repairs, the same time the curtain rail was bent, the staple was missing.The gouge remained as did the scratch. No mention of future work on this was mentioned by anyone.
It didn't fall out. It was removed.
Later, when the slide was out, there were more.
Notice the rough cut wood meeting the floor. At least it appears straight.
Wait:
I almost forgot the long staple sticking out of the bedroom TV frame.
I'll try another attempt at a picture.
Let's go into the bathroom. Wait, there's something wrong with the door. It's cracked at the latch.
It seems some repair was attempted by the door manufacturer, maybe, maybe Thor?
Not good enough, replace the door. Thor did.
The bathroom walls were full of protruding staples. Possibly the installer should have gone to shorter ones.
Dixie was nice enough to plaster over them and offer this "fix" instead of ordering new panels. We thanked them and decided that "new" was better. Another panel was found full of staples. I decided to let Dixie tape over them instead of removing the wall. I had learned their limits.
We stupidly signed an agreement shoved at us during the "paperwork" phase of buying this thing, to arbitrate differences in "opinion" It was done in a moment of lust. We were assured by the fella throwing the papers at us that he'd never observed an arbitration. We were like a couple of bobble heads. There are reasons why he'd never seen one. Read the document and you will understand why.
Being mad at some person or entity is not as bad as being mad at yourself. But, the person or entity initiating that self deprecation is next in line. That has a lot to do with this page and why I'm taking time to work it up.
The fine print says that arbitration does not come free if ruled against. I think they choose the arbitrator. I don't know any.
Don't sign that stupidity. Walk away!!!! Run.
No agreement was made with Thor AND THOR IS TRYING to make it right. Why? No document?
I would have invoked the La. Lemon Law, if I had known what was to come.
And the wallpaper was coming loose.
I hadn't noticed the "stains" Mildew? Or, maybe they are shadows? This picture looks terrible.
Maybe the driver who pulled his car from Indiana to Louisiana, missed the toilet.
That was a joke. I hope.
Let's go outside.
The decal on the driver side was torn. I saw that from a mile away.
I climbed the roof to take a look since the fella, who said he'd inspected the RV, told us he'd done some sealing on top as a freebie from Dixie. I cringed as I climbed the ladder.
Not to worry, a screw was put in the roof to hold it down. At least we'll know where the water is coming from.
The service manager seems to think Thor left some underlying support mechanism out. He has to be commended for this observation. Look at the dents in the roof. Thor never sent me assembly line pictures to prove this to be normal. His story changed.
The free sealant isn't even sticking where it should. Look at this amateur mess.
Could have used some here. Now this could be a problem. You can see the residue from water collecting. When the antenna problem arose, I got 3 tubes of this stuff for 20 bucks delivered. Do it.
If I got a tube for less than 7 bucks delivered, imagine how cheap Dixie gets it.
Back off the roof and we go to the "Shoreline cable hatch" I'd noticed it was not fitted well to body.
No problem, just goop it up with more silicone.
Now for some notes.
One old notation remains:
The notes have been removed because after 5.5 months, the Thor Rep will be at Dixie RV on April 18, 2017 to fix it right. I can only pray .......
He left after one day only fixing the silicone and broken / stapled to death dinette seat support.
Cynthia, Thor's representative, has put forth the appearance of trying to help me, "and Dixie", as she says. That is her job.
She wrote:
The degree of sincerity and accomplishment will become evident after March 14, the day we are...
That didn't work out. March 14 was when we brought it in last. We were without our new purchase for over a month.It sat out in very bad weather.
I wrote:
"If Thor does not fix it this week, we will have to go to Plan B. Plan A is done".
A journal entries:
Thor's Rep attempted to fix the RV during the week of March 14. The right parts were not assembled and he could not proceed. Now it is exactly one month later and he will be back after the Easter weekend.''
The RV sat in the weather for 6 weeks. I was and am still furious.
He was "delayed". and did not show for the 18th. Cynthia has promised he will be there April 19th. That is a Wednesday. Do you think all of the above can be fixed for Friday?
That was March. The major problems since have been the slide out. I'll look for the pictures and post them. I saw this page was getting hits and do hope this will guide you away form both companies.
More pictures.
The sink, who installs a faucet this way. ... Thor, because the sink won't go in with it correctly positioned and they don't take the time to put it right. Other new units were the same. Who doesn't notice that? Run.
When the sink was replaced, Dixie didn't take time to put the faucet right.Nasty, lazy, incompetent, which?
The pen is sticking in the hole.
Mirror fix for this cheap junk. Holes cut for wrench insertion. Otherwise, pull the glued mirror out.
This manufacturer's product perfectly fits Thor.
The slide out.
On the road fix.
This is on top of the slide out, inside the RV.
The top seal did not reach across the slide out. The seal was torn and the wood broken off.. Dixie, when asked, said they'd "investigate".
I never heard more from them. I took thee shots and contacted Thor who sent me the seal and I fixed. it. The wood support was broken and I went to the lumber yard and got more. That led to finding the other seals unattached and worthless. I fixed those. I also found the wires to the slide motor perilously close to the rough jagged iron used for the slide frame. I taped them up and moved them out of the way.
Then the slide runner self destructed when a screw was torn loose.
Thor sent a replacement but the same thing happened. I was not going back to Dixie. The situation has stabilized after sinking the screws deeply.
Back to the beginning of this page.
Oh, these slide problems, the seals and sliders, can be attributed to the Thor's not understanding they are dealing with 2 plains. One plain is the hole cut in the side of the RV which corresponds to the floor. The other plain is the slide which is set to level so the bed will be level. The slide comes in and the tolerance between slide and RV, slide platform and slide are uneven. As I mentioned. the "squared" seals do not fit the side out, one end being roughly an inch different.
This picture shows in progress seal change at my house. The aluminum duct tape will keep water from getting into the "wood". Wires were helterskelter. Who knows how entangled they could have become. I learned they go to the slide motors threaded up inside the side interior seals so don't pull on them.
This stuff will help seal uneven contacts that those stupid rubber flaps will not on the side of the slide. They are "door" sweeps. They keep bugs out. The big seals can be gotten at Lowes for 7 bucks. They are called "garage door" seals. Slides with gears on the side are worthless. Don't buy an RV with that set up. Though not perfect, they are better than nothing, and nothing is what you get, in my opinion, from Thor.
Pictures of my fixes to come.
There is more. One night I got up to go to the bathroom and stepped in water. It was coming from the wall across from the refrigerator. The next morning I took that cover off and found the filter cover on the water pump leaking. I had to repostion it to be able to tighten it and the other fittings. But, I was not satisfied that it had been the sole contributor to the water. Upon getting home I pulled out the big drawer that gave me access to where the water tank fill hose and breather hose were attached. The breather was kinked and and the filler hose LEAKING. It had been incorrectly attached at both ends.
I understand that the RV industry in Elkheart, Indiana cannot find enough workers and, in my opinion, it is obvious they will hire anyone. As far as I can see there is no skill at Thor, either in engineering or assembly. Check out what brands they own. They have bought up once good brands and who is to say what has happened to their reputation. It won't be me because I will never buy another brand associated with that company.
